Tales of Symhonia: ReTold
by Neox-chan
Summary: Genis and Lloyd go through are walking through Treit Desert when they notice a boy in the sand. Why was he there? and whats with him and his mysterious abilities? T for language at times and some implied things.
1. A strange discovery

A/N: Okay right now before anyone says " That didn't happen" or "I don't remember that", ALOT of the stuff in this story never happened. Also, I don't remember much from when I first got the game(the year it came out in the U.S), so I'm gonna start changing it up DRASTICALLY after the fight with Magnius( Which is as far as I got when I had the game next, before my cousin took it back). This starts after Lloyd and Genis leave Isellia.

Disclaimer: Sadly, I only own Kurai Bikou.

Chapter 1: A strange discovery.

Lloyd and Genis were walking through Treit desert. They had left Isellia only 4 hours ago and were starving, tired and..."HOT!!" Lloyd shouted. " Its so damn hot! why is it so hot!!!?" Genis gave Lloyd a glance before saying " I'm guessing the fact that we're in a desert in the middle of summer has nothing to do with it?" He put a hand over his eyes as he looked into the distance. "Lloyd I see it! Treit! Only 5 kilometers away!!" he shouted happily. Lloyd sprang to his feet and shot off into the distance, Genis following shortly." "Treit!!" Lloyd bellowed, relief and joy both very evident in his voice. "Treit, civilization, WATER, SHELTER!!!!!" Then, out of nowhere he tripped and fell face first onto the sand. Genis, who was behind a bit, skidded to a stop beside him." Lloyd," Genis said as his friend got up. "Are you alright?"

"Yeah..." came the red swordsman's reply. "But what did trip on?" They both looked back and saw a lump of black. They walked over to it and upon closer observation, were shocked to find an elf. " an person!? Out here!??" Lloyd shouted. " Don't just stand there and shout!!" Genis berated him. " We have to help him!" Lloyd nodded, picking up the elf boy, before hurrying to Treit.

Upon arriving in Treit, they went to straight to the inn. They got a room and went up to it, laying the elf on the bed to get a better look at him. He had neon green hair, like kratos's style, a long black jacket that went down to his ankles and had the sleeves cut off. He was fairly muscular for a teen. He was about sixteen. But the strangest thing was that he had a black blindfold on so his eyes couldn't be seen.

Genis left and soon came back with a half full glass of water. Lloyd took the glass and threw the water on his face. Genis looked about ready to have a heart attack. "LLOYD HAVE YOU GON NUTS???!!!" Genis he shouted, startling residents nearby. "WE WANTED HIM TO WAKE UP NOT DROWN!!!!" A few coughs were heard bringing their attention back to the boy. He coughed a bit more and sat up. "Are you o.k.? Lloyd asked patting the boy's back." What's your name?" The boy looked up at Lloyd. "I- I'm fine." He said, sounding a bit cautious." I'm Kurai.... Kurai Bikou. Who are you two?"

The young half elf cleared his throat." I'm Genis Sage and this is Lloyd Irving" he said, extending a hand. Kurai looked at the hand for a minute, before smiling and taking it." Say Kurai, I have a few questions for you." Lloyd asked as he said boy got up. "Yes? and please just call me Rai.

Lloyd nodded." Okay Rai, first question; why were you in Treit desert?" Rai looked out the window and saw they were indeed in Treit. "Treit, huh? Weird name. And I can't remember. " Genis looked thoughtful while Lloyd went on to his question." Okay next question, what ** can **you remember?" "Not much , just my name age and, ya know, personal stuff." he replied with a shrug. Genis was waiting for the next question to process the information. "Okay last question, why do you wear a blindfold?"

"........I can't tell you." he replied in a dead serious tone. "Please don't ask why. I just can't"

Genis looked a bit disappointed. "But hey a got I go a question for you guys. What were you doing in the desert?" Lloyd sighed and began to explain their story to Rai. Genis, meanwhile, was attempting to make sense of what Rai had said._ It just doesn't make any sense,_ he thought. _What kin of person passes out in a desert and has no recollection of what happened.... Okay, a lot of it happens, but if that was the case, he wouldn't remember his personal information._ He decided to ask Raine for her opinion. "Okay I see." Rai said as Lloyd finished telling him the tale." Well Lloyd from what you've told me, I've gathered that..... your aren't very intelligent. Genis burst out laughing. Lloyd looked embarrassed. "Don't worry.. Anyway you have these disains on your tail right? Well maybe you should get going before they look in this town. Won't take very long as small as it is here.."

"Yeah your right. so let's get going Rai.." Genis said. Rai looked surprised. "Huh??!" he questioned." Rai? That's me. Where am I going?" "With us" Lloyd said, smirking. "You haven't got anywhere else to go do you?" Rai looked a bit happier. "I...I guess not. Okay I'll go with you...Just promise me one thing."

"Okay, what's that? Genis asked. "Stop me before I kick or insult rocks near your sister." H said before laughing. Genis looked amazed before looking at Lloyd. "L-Lloyd how did you.....?!" "Known for awhile" Lloyd replied before laughing along with Rai. Genis sighed but smiled._ This is gonna be a long journey._


	2. A Fighting chance

Well, first of all, I'd like to thank tiger002 for being the first to review this story. Also, some minor changes will be made throughout the story. Well that's all I've got to say right now. So on with the story! Enjoy!

Chapter 2: A Fighting chance

As the trio was walking out the door, Rai noticed something. "Hey Lloyd," he said causing Genis and Lloyd to stop and come over and observe his discovery. "What's this?" He pointed at a wanted poster with a splatter of red and pale on it. The word "Lloyd" was printed on it. "THAT'S supposed to be ME?!" Lloyd shouted, not believing his eyes. "Am I THIS ugly?!" Rai looked around as Lloyd shout had turned some heads in their direction. "Shit," he mumbled. " Lloyd, we've got company. And if my guess is right they don't seem very neighborly." Lloyd kept his attention at the poster while Genis turned to see what Rai meant.

"Lloyd!!!!" he exclaimed. "Disains!!!" That got Lloyd's attention. He pivoted around and took out his twin blades. Genis took out his kendama. Rai held out a hand, signaling for them to stop. "Guys let me take care of these guys." he said taking off his jacket. He was wearing a sleeveless shirt and had a scimitar tied to his back. He took the scimitar and pointed it at the five enemies. "GET THEM!!" the apparent group leader shouted. The four others charged, all with the intension to kill. Suddenly in a puff of black and purple smoke, Rai disappeared. Everyone, especially the disains, were extremely confused. In another puff, Rai reappeared and slashed the leader through horizontally. All eyes turned to the spot were a resounding thump was heard. Rai quickly sprinted to the nearest disain so fast that it looked like he disappeared and reappeared and gave him a punch so strong it shattered his helmet and knocked him unconscious. Soon, either due to a punch, kick or slash, all the disains were on the ground unconscious. "W-wow." Lloyd stuttered while Genis looked simply awestruck. How did you do that?"

Rai smirked and turned to them. "Personal." He said. "can't be taught either. Well shall we keep go-!!!!!!!!!!!" He shouted as he was shocked by a blue lightning. Lloyd and Genis snapped out of their trances but it was too late as the same happened to Lloyd. Both teens fell on the floor, out cold. "Don't move kid!" a big disains shouted at Genis, who wouldn't have moved anyway to stunned by fear. "Come and get em. Lets take em back.." Two muscular ones came and picked up the fallen fighters. The big one motioned for Genis to come which he did as soon as he got the feeling back in his legs.

* * *

"Lloyd....Lloyd.....Damn it Lloyd wake up!!" Rai said, kicking Lloyd at the last one. As Lloyd began to stir, Rai scowled at the guard who pasted the cell, smirking at them as he went by. Lloyd got to his feet and looked around. "W-where are we?" He asked as he took a look around. "Most likely a disain base." Rai replied. "We've gotta get outta here." He walked to the cell bars and punched them. "Getting a bit wiley huh kid?" the guard taunted. Rai, fed up with the guard's attitude, spit in his eye. "GUAAAAA!!" he yelled. After he got the liquid out of his eye he glared daggers at Rai. "Watch yourself punk!" Rai smiled and flipped him off in response.

The guard looked shocked then scoffed and continued walking. " What do you mean? Can't you just use that magic you used earlier?" Lloyd asked. Rai shook his head. "firstly, its not magic. Second, no. It'll make too much of an uproar. We'll be apprehended before we can leave this cell." he said, deep in thought. "Hey, you still got that Sorcerer's ring thing right?" Lloyd held up his hand, showing the ring. "Excellent. We're getting outta this joint." He motioned for Lloyd to lean closer to him. He then whispered his idea in the twin's swordsman's ear. Lloyd leaned back after awhile, face looking unsure. Rai's face, however, was beaming.

"Sound like a plan, Red?" He said, stifling laughter at Lloyd's angry face. "Shut up! And I think it would cause uproar." 'Red' replied. he was silent for awhile, then smiled and said, "but that's the way I like things." Both boys smirked mischievously.....

To Be Continued.....


	3. The Great Escape! Or an Escape

First, I'm sorry as hell for taking so long to update! I have summer school so I don't have as much free time. I'll try to update a lot more. Again, Thank Tiger002 for reviewing this story (and telling me how to correctly spell desains). Okay, on with the story~

Chapter 3: The Great Escape!.. Or an Escape.

"Okay Lloyd on my cue." Rai said as he looked at the back of the guard's head. "Yo bastard!" he called. The guard turned around and glared at him. "what punk?!" He shouted, quite sick of Rai at this point. Rai had to suppress a smile that threatened to grace his features. If the guard could shout without getting a question from any of his desain comrades, then he must be here alone! "Listen up" Rai said as if he owned the man. "your gonna to open this cell with the key or your gonna give me to open it myself. I don't really care which."

That was it. The desain stormed over to the cell and took the keys off the belt on his waist, waving them in Rai's face.. "What these keys?" he taunted angrily. "You want keys but you can't have keys!!" Rai smirked, then gave Lloyd a countdown from three behind his back. "You like pain?" Rai said, putting down one finger to show two. "well you can have pain!!" he grabbed the guard's arm. He pulled the guard hard into the bars and put down his one finger. Lloyd lifted up his fist and used the sorcerer's ring to set the guard's clothes ablaze and send him flying across the room. As his body burned, Rai used the key to unlock the cell.

"we're free! we're free!! we're fre-mmmmpppphhh!" Rai celebrated before being cut off by Lloyd slapping his hand over his mouth. "dammit shut up!" Lloyd shushed. "are you trying to get us killed?!" Rai laughed nervously as Lloyd removed his hand. The two began searching for their missing equipment. After awhile they found them in a locked chest. "Damn!" Rai said angrily. Lloyd tried to pick the lock with a paper clip he got of the deceased guard's desk. Unfortunately, this plan failed. Miserably. The paper clip ended up breaking in the lock. "I guess these locks are different from the ones at school."

In his rage, Rai threw the chest at the wall. apparently, the neither the wall nor the chest appreciated that, as the chest bounced off the wall and hit him in the face. "Ow!" Rai cried in pain. Lloyd was in hysterics by the time Rai arose. He laughed twice as hard when he saw the large bump on his forehead.

THWACK!!!

"OWWWW!!!" Lloyd wailed after being nailed with a direct hit to the head. "That hurt!" Rai simply rubbed his own skull to see if it left a bruise. It did.

Lloyd looked at his finger and without a word, set the chest on fire. " AH! the hell Lloyd?!" Rai said backing up far. "Wait for it, wait for it….." Lloyd muttered. After some burning, the lock had completely melted away.

"YES!" Lloyd shouted victoriously.. "I knew it!" Rai looked at him angrily. "Oh yeah Lloyd!" he growled. "Burn the damned thing and everything in it!!" Lloyd stopped his cheer and looked at the flaming chest for a long minute. "So how do we put it out?"

Rai blinked (well it looked like blinking but he still had his blindfold on). He leaned against a wall and tried to count to ten. Seeing as that didn't work, he turned to Lloyd and said only "you figure it out." he slid down into a sitting position and started counting to one hundred.

Lloyd thought long and herd and looked around. He began to panic. His swords were made of wood! they would turn to ash! Lloyd, once again without thinking kicked the chest into the guards bones. Bones filled the air and repeatedly fell on the chest. The fire was getting hammered out! Neither boy noticed because Lloyd was stomping his foot to try to put out the flames on his boot that had caught fire when he kicked the flaming chest. Rai didn't seem to be paying attention and was still counting.

When the flames on his boots were out, Lloyd looked up and saw the box, flame free, sitting in a nest of bones. "Rai look!" Lloyd joyfully cheered, snapping Rai out of his counting. "The chest!" Rai looked around and saw the chest. He immediately ran to it. "YES! YOU DID IT LLOYD!!" He picked up the chest. "AHHHHHHHHHHHH WWWAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHH!!!!!!!!!" he took the 10 seconds to shout before dropping it back to the ground, making it smash and reveal everything inside. Rai blew on his hands while Lloyd picked up his blades which, aside from being slightly warm, were completely fine. Rai blew on his hands gently and picked up his scimitar. Lloyd hadn't gotten a good look at it before, but his scimitar was crafted out of complete gold. He marveled at it until Rai put it back in his sheathe. Rai looked for a path, and found one to their left. He ran down it and Lloyd followed suit. As soon as they turned a corner, two desains stepped through an automatic door. They immediately spotted Lloyd and Rai. "HEY! THEY'VE ESCAPED" One shouted before charging at them. Rai grabbed Lloyd's wrist and all went black for awhile. Soon everything was visible again but Lloyd had no idea where he was. He noticed the walls were still the same so they must still be in the desain base. Rai slammed a hand over his mouth and whispered in his ear. "Don't make a sound. No matter what. And don't look up." As a force of habit, Lloyd looked up and saw that the desains that were in front of him were now above them. Along with everything else that was behind them and in front of them. Taking all this in, Lloyd came to one conclusion. They were on the ceiling. Lloyd had it not been for Rai's mouth would have screamed. Rai glared at him and gestured for him to follow. As they walked they came to the wall that had the exit door on it. However, they were on the ceiling. Which meant the door was on the floor. Or vice versa? It was confusing. But it was clear the door was far above them. Rai grabbed his wrist again and the event was repeated. They reappeared on the floor in front of the door and Lloyd was dragged through it. Rai slammed the button for it to close as the two desains were running towards it. He stabbed his blade into it for the control panel, making it impossible to be opened unless it was broken. "W-What was that?" Rai looked depressed and didn't answer. Instead, he walked over to another door. Lloyd followed again, and made a mental note to pester him about it later when he was in a good mood.

As soon as Rai was going to slash the doors open, they opened and two desains drew their blades when they saw the young boys. Lloyd drew his twin blades.

* * *

After a couple of fights, some twists and turns and a strange puzzle, the duo ended up in front of a man with blue hair. "Who the hell are you?" he asked. he didn't seem to really have a view point on them yet. "Give me your name and I'll give you mine." Lloyd replied, trying not to smile. He always smiled when he said that, but now he wanted to appear as serious as he was. "Who the hell are _you?_" Rai replied. He had a line for occasions like this too. The man seemed agitated and glared at them. Rai glared back. He already didn't like this guy. "I asked you a question and I expect it to be answered!" the man half-growled half-yelled. Rai turned his back and crossed his arms, looking over his shoulder at him. "Kiss my ass." He replied nonchalantly. The man was evidently peeved by this. "Listen boy-" he began but was cut off by an man running in. "Lord Yuan!" he said with quite a few foot soldiers. "The chosen's group has infiltrated our facility!"

Lloyd looked shocked. "you…you're the desain that attacked Iselia!" Rai looked at him, surprised at his outburst. "T-this is the guy you told me about?!" he stammered. The man looked at them. "Ah, so your Lloyd." he said. "Botta! take care of this!" the blue haired man, Yuan, ordered the armored man, Botta.

"As for you two, next time we meet, your mine." He looked Lloyd up and down briefly. "Hmm…..I see the resemblance." were the last words he gave before he took his leave. Botta advanced on the two, drawing a rather strange large, red sword. His foot soldiers followed, drawing various weapons. Both Rai and Lloyd drew their weapons but stepped back as well. They were outnumbered by 8 foot soldiers plus Botta. A mechanical sound was heard as the door that Botta entered through opened. Genis stepped through with Collette and Kratos, all with their weapons out. "Lloyd! Rai!" Genis shouted, happy that his friends were safe. "Are you alright? Are you hurt?" Collette asked, though it wasn't clear if she was talking to Lloyd and Rai or just Lloyd. But it was more likely the former. "Yea Collette," Lloyd assured. "We're fine. Now to deal with these guys. Everybody got into a battle stance, ready to use whatever skills they had to kill their targets.

To Be Continued….


	4. Battles Ensure and Secrets Spill

Next chapter is ready to role! Lets do this!

Battles Ensure and Secrets Spill

The air was thick with tension as each team waited for the other to strike first. Finally, one of the Desains charged directly at Rai, sword ready. Bad choice of people to attack. Rai simply grabbed his wrist and swung him, slamming him into Botta. The battle began. Kratos and Lloyd were taking on Botta, while Genis and Collette were attacking the foot soldiers. Rai was alternating between both. Attacking the foot soldiers and then slashing at Botta. After awhile there were only two foot soldiers left and were battling Rai, Collette, and Genis. Suddenly, Botta, who had gotten into a blade lock with Kratos and Lloyd, pushed them back, sending them into the air. Kratos rebounded and landed on his feet. Lloyd didn't have enough time and ended up slamming face first into the hard steel floor. "Hey!" Rai exclaimed rushing at Botta. "You don't do that to my friends!" He slashed at Botta but was blocked. Botta and Rai battled for some time, seemingly evenly matched. Botta got into a blade lock with Rai, though Rai was overpowering him. "You're a formidable foe boy." Botta said, straining. "You'd be smart to join us."

Rai growled and prepared to finish Botta off. But stopped when he noticed Botta's blade glowing slightly red. He realized what it meant but only too late. Botta smirked as he was about to release a fire spell. Thinking fast, Rai lashed out, knocking Botta's blade away. Botta came with a comeback of his own, slamming his leg into the side of Rai's face and knocking his scimitar away. Botta's blade made contact with the ground, setting flames to the rug the two were on. The two foot soldiers were defeated easily by Kratos but more came running in soon. As they battled, Rai and Botta battled physically inside the ring of fire. Rai gave Botta a strong kick to the jaw, which Botta returned with a punch to the gut. Rai stumbled back and ducked when Botta attempted a strike to the face. He launched his foot up and kicked him in the jaw. Botta fell backwards rubbing his jaw. He leaped up and was going to slam his fist into Rai's face but was met with Rai's shoe making contact with his face. He had to stop himself before he felt in the flames. They were rapidly approaching and threatened to engulf them both. Rai noticed this too. "Hey, Botta right?" He asked looking at the burning rug. "I think we should end this now. How about I just let you live and you come with us? You really strong and I'd like you to join us in regenerating the world." Botta stood, wiping his mouth with the back f his hand. "no thank you." Came his angry reply. "How about I kill you and then your friends?" That pissed Rai off. "Fine. Have it your way!" He held up his fist and grinned. Darkness began do flow over his arm and he charged at Botta.

A sickening crack was heard as Botta's armor broke. Though it was a strike to the stomach, all of Botta's armor shattered. As the pieces fell to the floor, Botta and Rai were fifteen feet in the air, Rai's fist jammed into Botta's stomach. When they landed, which seemed like it took forever, Rai retracted his fist and Botta fell to his knees, then on his hands as well. As Botta coughed up blood, Rai smirked with satisfaction, before falling backwards, unconscious. Botta was now throwing up blood, but managed to stand. "You little demon." He growled out. "I'm gonna kill you right here, right-"

"AQUA EDGE!" Genis shouted as a torrent of water rammed through the wall of fire and then into Botta, sending him through the other wall. Botta fell to the ground but quickly got up. "I have no energy left to fight you," he mumbled. "But next time…..I'll finish you all off!" He quickly fled with the help of two subordinates. Rai regained consciousness but couldn't move. Lloyd ran over to him. "Rai! Are you ok?!" Lloyd asked, concerned for his new friend. Rai could only nod in response. Kratos stepped up. "Are you hurt?" he asked in his usual tone. "you don't appear to be." Lloyd glared at him while Rai shook his head. "SHUT YOUR MOUTH!" Lloyd shouted at Kratos. Rai slowly lost consciousness again. Genis noticed this. "Rai!" He shouted, his voice fading to Rai. "Hang in there! Rai……"

* * *

Rai awoke in the room he was in when he first met Genis and Lloyd. Heb noted someone sitting at a desk with long white hair. She was examining something in her hands. Genis was asleep in the bed next to him. He sat up, groaning involuntarily. The woman turned around. "Ah, your awake I see." she said. Rai only stared at her, not knowing what to say. She stood up and walked over to him. Rai recoiled a bit but otherwise didn't move. "I'm Raine Sage. Genis's older sister." she extended her hand. Rai shook it. He didn't have anything to worry about knowing this was the person Lloyd spoke so highly about.

"Hello. I'm Rai. Nice to meet you ma'am." Raine smiled warmly at him. "Likewise. are you okay? Kratos told me what happened." Rai smiled slightly. "yes, I'm okay."

Raine sat next to him. "Your powers….. I would like you to tell me more about them please." she asked casually. Rai's eyes widened. "ummmm…..I'm sorry……I can't." He sincerely said. Raine looked at him for a long time. "why not?" she asked.

"Its too……dark, to talk about. And I wouldn't want to bore you with the long story." he replied. That was an ironic choice of words. "I have time." Raine persisted calmly. She was too interested in this, there was no way she'd leave him without an answer. Rai said and took a deep breath and began. "Its dark mana." He said seriously. "I'm what you would call a Gaia candidate. I'm in line to become this world's Gaia. The is, if I obtain the other powers like mine. I have darkness." Raine looked at him, surprised. A Gaia? "I see." She said, wanting to pursue the subject further. However, she noted how hard it was for him to speak of it in the first place, so she decide to drop it. "Please!" Rai exclaimed silently. "Don't tell the others! I don't want them to know! Please…."

Raine smiled warmly at him again and smoothed down his hair. "Don't worry. You have my word that your secret is safe with me." Rai smiled a little, but his eyes were drooping. "Get some rest Rai." Raine told him. She saw how reluctant he was to do so, but gently pushed him back down. "you'll need it for in the morning. we're going to the first seal. Its not too far off from here. We need to stock up on supplies, so we have to get up a bit earlier than usual. Okay? So you need your sleep." With that, she stood up and walked back to where she was seated before. Rai didn't want to sleep, even though he was tired. But he simply chose to do as Raine asked. She was going to keep his secret, plus she seemed generally concerned for him. This was the very least thing he could do in return. He closed his eyes and slowly drifted off into a peaceful slumber.

To Be Continued….


	5. Old Freinds

**Whoa! Long chappie alert! Well, since its fairly long, kick back, grab some type of drink and something to eat and enjoy the chapter!**

**Lloyd: Neox-chan doesn't own Tales of Symphonia. He does however own anything that you do not recognize as part of the story including any extra characters, abilities, or monsters you might see.**

**Genis: oh my god...Raine! Come quick! Lloyd had an intellegence burst! Hurry before he changes back!**

**Colette: oh my....um, please enjoy the story! Wait! Professer no! He was reading that from a piece of paper!**

**~Old friends~**

Rai sat on the bench next to the pen which held Noishe. He looked at the strange animal and pet its head. He looked out to Triet as Raine and Kratos were gathering supplies for their trip to the seal of fire. Genis and Colette had gone to the southern side of the desert city (though Rai considered it a town as small as it was). Lloyd was still asleep at the momment and the others decided to go take care of buissness before waking gaia canidate sighed before laying back. _If Lloyd is allowed to sleep, _he thought to himself, closing his blindfolded eyes. _Then so can I._

Just as sleep started to overtake him, he was startled awake by a loud scream and what sounded like a roar. He quickly stood and unshethed his gold scimitar, which he told Raine he called Shinjin, and looked around. It didn't take long for him to find why people were screaming. In the square of the Treit, monsters were charging around, trying to devour the city/town's inhabitants. The people wailed for their life but seemed to be faster than the monsters. Rai rushed to the scene and slashed a snake that threatened to eat a young girl and ushered her to her mother before getting in front of the entrance to the second section of Treit. He noted a few katz with spears defending the area as well. "If any of them get by me, take care of em. After reciving a nod from the lead Katz, he charged the monsters.

"Cross thrust!" Rai and Kratos shouted, both preforming a sonic thrust through a either side of a scorpian. The monsters' numbers had greatly decreased and all were almost gone. Genis, Colette, Raine and Kratos had arrived shortly after Rai began fighting. Rai struck down the last snake as Genis incinerated the last few scorpions. "Finally," the young elf mage said. "That's all of....wait! There's one more! I can sense its mana!" Rai searched furiously for the last monster. As a Katz, thinking its safe, ventured over to congradulate the group, the ground suddenly started rumbling. Right in front of the pink Katz, a giant black, silver, and purple worm came out of the sand. The creature lunged at the being, jaws open (not looking like they could be closed actually), fully intending on devouring it. Rai immedeatly jumped onto its back and stabbed his blade into it. He hung on as the monster thrashed about, trying to get the sword out of its back. The Katz scrambled back to its group.

Rai felt his sword slipping and prayed to Martel that it wouldn't fall out. Unfortunetly, his prayers went unanswered as the creature reared back instantly, dislodging the Shinjin and sending Rai plummeting to the ground. He hit the sand hard but that was the least of his problems. He soon saw the worm diving right towards him, Genis had unleashed a fireball at it but it was too far away to make it in time. He was dead.

"TEMPEST!" a fimiliar voice shouted byfore a blur of red and silver in the form of a disk crashed into the worm, sending it skidding across the sand. The creature let out a vicious roar and tunneled underground. "Lloyd!" Genis shouted in joy.

"You didn't think I'd miss the WHOLE fight did you?" the red clad swordsman said, grinning. This victory was short lived, as the worm tunneled up, surprising the party since the ground didn't shake. What was more alarming was the large brown ball that was in its mouth. A spell!

The worm's spell, though what it was remained unknown, grew larger and it let out a roar, and looked at Rai and Lloyd, who was close to Rai. The two teens' eyes widened as a large blast of sand covering a brown mass of mana sped right toward them. What they expected was: 1. extreme pain. 2: flying through the air. And 3: pain upon landing on the ground, breaking their necks and then never opening their eyes again.

However, it was much different. Out of seemingly nowhere, a large surge of wind slammed the attack away, before several gusts of wind swirled around the worm, cutting it deeply severla times. The worm tumbled to the ground after the attack had ceased. Soon after a sickle-like blade buried itself in the worms head. Everyone looked puzzeled until Lloyd, following the chain connected to the sickle, directed their attention the the Treit inn. Atop the inn, stood two figures. One had a large rod in their hand, the sickle's chain in the top of it. The other simply had a hand extended. Their daces couldn't be seen because they were standing in front of the sun, but it was apperant who did what. The one with the sickle, evidently a chain sythe, jumped into the air, and landed in front of Rai and Lloyd. The other jumped and landed on the worm. The person with the sickle turned to them. He was a man, maybe in his early 20s, with silvery hair down to his mid-back, tied in a braid. His eyes were teal, and he wore a black open cloak. He wore no shirt under, so his bare, muscular chest was showing. He had on simple black jeans and black boots.

"Wait here." he said, turning his attention to the monster worm. He flicked his wrist and the sickle harshly tore out of the beast's skull. It roared once more, rearing up. The person who was on the top of the worm jumped back, landing in front of them, next to their partner. It happened to be a girl. She had green hair like Rai, only a tone darker, in a ponytail and had pink eyes. She wore a white long sleeve shirt with a blue colar, that seemed rather large for her, considering it covered her hands and then some, and when down to her knees, making it impossible to tell what her pants were (or if she was wearing any, as Lloyd realized.) she had several sashes around her torso, each with an ammount of either bells or chimes, though, couriously, neither of none made a sound when she moved. She wore a pair of pink sneakers, wich looked old and worn with yellowish-pink socks. She smiled at the two, but her eyes widened, before a loud cry from the worm drew her attention.

Her ally was currently trying to keep the worm from devouring him by blocking its mouth his sythe. At that momment, Genis and Kratos felt the need to interveen and lend a hand. "lighting!" both shouted in unison. A very large bolt of lighting came from the clear sky, stricking the creture and making it back off the man. Lloyd also took the chance, attacking the beast with another tempest. He bounced back from the hit he delivered to the worm's hard skin and landed next to Rai. He noted that the neon green haired teen hadn't moved since the two people had appeared, and he seemed to be in shock. He got over it a few seconds after Lloyd noticed him though. He stood and brandished Shinjin, holding it's hilt with both hands in front of him. He relazed his muscles and looked at his blade.

"Trembling cage that bends empty space, drive a wedge of freedom into those who would be captured...Negative Blade!" he shouted out, Shinjin gaining a black aura that formed a sword. "You're mine!" he leaped into the air and, even though he was a distance from the worm, slashed downward as he fell. The result shocked the party, as the aura extended, gaining a dark purple tint, and grew to enormous size, cleaving the worm in half from the far distance. The attack ended with the aura growing several spikes, shooting them out from it and shreading the worm to pieces. The aura then returned to the Shinjin, soaking into the blade until it was back to its normal gold shine. Rai looked at the fallen creature as it fadded into smoke as all monsters did. Once it was all gone, Rai turned to the two people who helped destroy the monster. The rest of the party approached as well. The duo looked back at the the rather large group. "Thank you very much for assisting us." Raine said with appreciation. Though, she got no reply. Both people were focused on Rai, as he was focused on them as well. It was silent for a momment before, surprisingly, the two hugged Rai, and he returned the hug.

"Rai! We missed you!" the girl cried happily. "we've been searchin' everywhere for ya kid!" she said, as the hug broke. Rai smiled. "I missed you too! Its been awhile!" he turned to face the party. "These are the people who helped me. According to the one in red, Lloyd, and the young elf boy, Genis, they found me unconcious in the sands of Treit Desert. These are their friends, and mine as well. Kratos, Raine, and Colette, the chosen of mana."

"uh, Rai?" Lloyd asked, uncertainly. "Wanna tell us who they are?" The Gaia Canidate turned to the party and nodded. These are my friends! Even though I lost my memory, I still remember my best friends. We traveled together." The girl smiled and extended a hand to no one in paticular. "I'm Sora Seimitsu! And the big silent guy here is Jishin Coolidge. Nice to meet ya!" her hand was taken by Raine. After everyone was well aquainted, Raine told them of the journey they had been on as the group bought and ate ice cream, sitting by the stable noishe was in while the people of Triet got back to their lives.. she told of the events that occurred at the Desian Base and what had happened just now. Kratos, who had remained silent up to this point, decided to add something at this point. "speaking of the Journey of Regeneration," he said in his usual monotone voice. "Shouldn't we get back to our current issue of the seal?" Raine nodded in agreement. "Yes. Rai," she said, looking at the boy eating the blue lolipop, racing to finish his with Genis, Lloyd and Sora. "Would you like to stay with your friends?" The question took him by surprise.

He looked pensive for awhile, obviously not likeing all the attention he was reciveing. Finally, he smiled. "Can't they come with us instead?" It was everyone else's turn to be surprised. "I mean, they're more than capable of taking care of theirselves! And the journey will be easier! Any objections?" Kratos looked as though he was about to say something, but was interuppted by the Chosen. "I like the idea!" she said with a large smile. She finished her green lolipop and put it in the nearby trashcan. "If its ok, I want them to come along." Sora slung her arm around Colette's shoulder. "Okay! If it's ok with Ms. Sage, we'll come with you!" Raine hesitated before sighing in defeat. "Very well. They can come along."

A group of cheers were heard from the younger members of the growing group (Lloyd, Colette, Genis, Rai and Sora) and they all smiled. Even kratos gave a smile grin. The group walked toward the gates of Treit, on the road to the first Seal: The Seal of Fire.


	6. Path toward the temple and serious talk

Okay, yeah. I had some computer problems. In other words, it overheated. I was PC-less for two years! DX But with help from Kitty Reviewer, I was able to get a new laptop ^^. Thank her if you like this story by going to her page and reading her stories and leaving positive comments~. Now then, onto the story! Someone do the disclaimer!

Sora: Hey Hey! ^^ Sora Seimitsu here! I've come to do the... the whatchamacallit! ^^ Neox-chan doesn't own Tales of Symphonia or any abilities or familiar stuff. Anything unfamiliar, like me, Rai, and Jishin, are owned by him! Enjoy the fanfic~

"It's soooooo hooooottt..."

"Make it stop..."

"Water... Water..."

"Will you three SHUT UP?" Raine, Kratos, and Jishin commanded, each getting tiered of the constantly complaining of Lloyd, Rai, and Sora. "It's a desert dammit," Jishin stated. "It's not supposed to be moderate temperature." Rai sighed.

"Where the hell is this fire temple anyway? We've been walking for hours!"

"Yeah, and my feet are killing me!" Sora added, wanting to just sit down and let the sun finish cooking her. Jishin looked at the two teens, then sighed and lifted them both up, placing them on his shoulders; one person to each shoulder.

"There. No more complaining or you're walking again." Rai and Sora grinned, sticking their tongues out at Lloyd, who groaned. Genis had been complaining so much, Raine picked him up and was carrying him in her arms. Colette had said the heat was making her dizzy and Kratos decided it would be best to not let her walk. So she was being carried on his back. At the moment, Lloyd was the youngest person still walking. "This is so unfair!" he moaned, dragging his sand filled shoes.

"Man up Lloyd." Kratos said bluntly.

"Bastard..." Lloyd grumbled.

Eventually, him and the adults were the only ones awake. The temple was in sight, but it would take another few hours and it was already getting really dark. So it was a must to set up camp, which was left to Lloyd (for some reason, Raine was horrified when the idea was purposed but was overruled by the two males who wanted to go catch the dinner for tonight.) So as Lloyd set the tent up, he had to keep a constant eye on the four sleeping kids. As he did, his mind wandered to the ages. Kratos had said he was the oldest before. So he tried to piece that together. He was 17. Genis was 12. Colette was 16. As they discussed earlier, Rai was 16. Sora was 14.

As for the adults, Kratos refused to give his age. Raine was 23. and lastly, Jishin was 22. This was unfair. He was left with the dirty work. He would much rather be hunting for food with Kratos and Jishin. Raine was going out to get drinks and such. "Need some help Lloyd?" Sora's voice said. Lloyd turned with a start and saw that she was sitting down, smiling at him with a smug look on her face.

"How long were you awake?" he asked.

"Ever since Jishin put me down."

"Did you ever think to help me?"

"I was waiting."

"For what?"

"To see how long it would take you to pick up the instruction manual." she giggled. The red clad twin swordsman glared at her and but then sighed and went to get the manual to set then tent up, as he was having a lot of trouble doing so. The girl stood up and walked over to him, picking up a piece of the tent and the two began to work on it together. Within minutes, the two tents were set up. "Thanks Sora." Lloyd said, collapsing onto the ground. Sora sat by him and leaned against a tent.

"No problem, Lloyd. Just didn't wanna be bored." She smiled as Kratos and Jishin came back. Somehow, they had managed to capture a few scorpions and made a small fire. "Aren't these things-"

Lloyd began, but Kratos cut him off.

"Poisonous? Not if you cook them properly."

Lloyd blinked and laid down, drifting off to sleep. This lasted about a half hour before someone shaking him made him stir. He opened his eyes to glare at the person but the smell of food, something slightly spicy and crisp, filled his nostrils. He shot upright but fell right back onto his back as his head collided with Genis's. A round of laughter was heard as everyone but Jishin and Kratos laughed at the display. Lloyd hurried to get to the food. "Here Lloyd," Sora smiled as she handed him a bowl of soup with what looked like lobster in it. He knew what it was, but decided to try it anyway. He grinned big, before eating quite quickly. It was delicious!

As they sat, they discussed the events that had happened that day. Monsters don't just attack places. "But what could have attracted them to Triet? I mean, there isn't any food that they eat that they can't find out there. And their food supply shouldn't be anywhere near low. No matter what." Genis said, thinking hard to try to understand the logic in this.

"Yes, but you forget. Monsters are attracted to large supplies of Mana. If a supply of Mana in Triet was significantly greater than the rest of the desert or say, 10 kilometers, the monsters would be inclined to go there. But the question is this: What could cause such a large spike in Mana that monsters would attack that quickly?" Kratos said, deep in thought. Raine noticed that Rai had stopped eating for the instance when Kratos gave his explanation. The moment Rai finished his meal, she stood up, causing everyone to look in her direction.

"Rai, can I speak to you in private?" she asked, looking at the Gaia Candidate. He waited a moment before standing up.

"Sure..." he and Raine walked a ways away from the camp. Raine looked at him. "Do you know what might have triggered the assault on Triet?"

Rai groaned. "Yes ma'am..." Raine looked at his blindfolded eyes. She somehow could tell he knew a lot more than he would be willing to let on. But this time she couldn't let it slide. Not if more monsters would be attacking them everywhere they went.

"Tell me, Rai."

"Fine... Me, Jishin and Sora are Gaia Candidates. Our mana is a bit... unique. They control Ice and wind, so that's the type of mana they have. The monsters probably found our mana preferable to the regular mana floating around the place. So they came to Triet... for us..."

"I see... is there a way to prevent this from happening at every place we visit? We can't camp around only. And we can't have monsters overrun cities and towns everywhere we go."

"Only one that I know off. Mana suppression. But I dunno if it would be a good idea to suppress our mana any more than we already are. We might not be able to fight very well. Jishin might know another way though."

"Very well... ask him to come here, please." Soon, all of the Gaia Candidates were gathered around Raine.

"So Rai told you everything, huh?" Jishin said, rubbing his chin in thought. "What is it that you want, ms. Sage?" Raine looked up at him.

"We need to find a way to suppress the amount of mana you three are releasing. You three are the reason Triet was attacked. We can't allow this to constantly occur."

"I see... we need a Kami Rokku. It binds the mana of beings to a certain point. We will be able to fight, but our true powers will be sealed more than they are. They have a halved effect that the items Gaia Candidates have, like Rai's blindfold, have. So we can easily battle like we do now. But will not give off mana unless we are using it."

"I understand but what do you need to make something like that?"

"Hmmm... simple things. For us, it would be the stones that bind us and some sort of caseing, like a necklace with a setting in which we could put the stone. That should be easy enough to acquire."

"How so?"

"These are materials that can be obtained at any convenience store."

"Okay. Well it's late. Let's go to bed, we will go to the seal first thing at dawn." They all nodded, going to the camp.


End file.
